can i do sps and lps in the same tank????

[verynewatthis]

i have a very big bubble and i want to do sps very much...but the sps need alot of water flow..and my bubble will not open if it has next to any water flow...i love the soft stuff that moves but i realy want some sps...plus i have a friend with lots of sps that he will give me frags of when my tank is ready for them...but to be ready i have to add water flow and MH...i think the MH will burn my BUBBLe....has anyone mix the two and had it work....????any thoughts...thz....rich hancock

[GaryP]

The other problem you have is that the bubble will sting SPS. It puts out sweeper tentacles at night. I think you are better of going with a seperate tank for SPS.

[verynewatthis]

i would like to do that but the wife is only going to let me have one tank....just droped about 2K in this tank....rich

[gjuarez]

I understand Rich, I had to get rid of all my lps in order to prepare my tank for sps. I would like to have an sps tank with zoos in the bottom. I will keep them as far away from each other as possible to prevent any chemical warfare. Jerry

[scuba_steveo]

If you are new to the Hobby I would stay away from SPS. Stick with LPS and softies for a while. As far as MH, most LPS like MH. They do not need nearly as many watts as SPS but they do well in my tank at the bottom.

[verynewatthis]

but my bubble is huge....about 18inch across and 12 high....its so big i can t put it in my live rock stack...it has to side in the corner of the tank all alone...rich

[verynewatthis]

here is some pics of the new tank...and the lonely bubble...rich
http://www.maast.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=10441

[gjuarez]

I have never had a bubble coral. My LFS has some bubble corals under metal halide and it does not burn them. THey do very good actually. As far as having it together with sps, I agree with Gary. I got rid of a moonstone because it would extend its long tentacles at night.

[gjuarez]

scuba, do you have LPS and SPS in the same tank. IF so, how do you keep them from stinging each other?

[jaded]

the sweepers on this guy would reach anywhere in that tank!!! I forgot how big that was since you first posted that pic

if your getting rid of him to make room for your sps let me know :) but I would agree with steveo... stick with teh softies and LPS for while... I think I have a very good handle on what I'm doing (started my first tank in the early 90's) but I still screwed up my new 135. If I were running anything other than softies and LPS I would have had a disaster to clean up

[verynewatthis]

i can t help but want to do more.....the wife is giving me 400$ on the first...to get new stuff...now i dont know what way to go....and the bubble is just to big for my tank...but im in az...and i dont know what to do with it....all the reefers here say its way to big for all of there tanks too....and the LFS that can tank corals is about 1 and a half hrs from here...plus i dont think they will give me much for it....they charge 100bucks for one that is the size of a apple..and mine is about the size of a coffie maker if you layed it on its side...i can even put it in a 5 gal bucket...cuz it will not fit in......so i would have to move it in a ice chest....woo is me.....rich

[C.Mydas]

I dream about that bubble! If you want I could take it off your hands this summer!! JK. I think the flow for SPS would probably tear your bubble. We've got a huge frogspawn in our SPS tank and we just put it in the back and make sure the little flow it gets (little compared to the rest of the tank) blows the frogspawn towards the glass so that if it is sending out tentacles the only thing they are hitting is the glass. Seems to be working, we've got SPS colonies less that 3inches away and have never lost one...besides the clowns love it.

[gjuarez]

Frag it and send some frags to jaded.

[alexwolf]

I think you really need to figure out what it is exactly you want to accomplish in your tank before you buy more and more equipment and livestock. If you want SPS, then i am sad to say the bubble probaly needs to go. Ebay it, there are a lot of people with large display tanks that will take it off your hands.

[verynewatthis]

how in the world could i move something that size...and i m way to new to frag it....is a co2 reactor setup not a good idea right now??? i just want to spend the money before i get more blues clues stuff in the house....lol....rich

[verynewatthis]

alex are you going to be out this way in the summer???....rich

[verynewatthis]

sorry wrong person...C.Mydas are you going to be out this way...???...rich

[C.Mydas]

Nope, but my parents are coming to Texas from Lake Havasu...Im sure they would pick it up for me if you wanted to get rid of it. :skeezy We (Greenmako and I) usually make it out there twice a year though, this year has been a little busy. If Greenmako (Brian) can get a job out there we will probably move to Scottsdale this time next year.

why?

[verynewatthis]

i wish i live in tx again....that way it would be eazy to find this thing a good home....rich

[gjuarez]

A CO2 reactor is probably a good setup for anytime, but I dont know if you need one because it does not seem like you have high calcium demands. You would probably do good with a two part additive like B Ionic. Make sure you do research first before you start investing a lot of money on expensive equipment.

[verynewatthis]

the thing is i want to get everything i need to do sps...so when i start ill have a good jump on it.....or am i wasting money???....rich......

[GaryP]

I assume you mean a calcium reactor. I don't think you can justify one for your size tank unless you are doing SPS. There are easier ways to add calcium and buffer in a small LPS tank like yours.

I say take the $400 and go buy yourself a nice nano that you can put SPS in. You can buy a JBJ 30 gal. cube for about $250. Add another set of PC lights and you are set to go.

[Tim Marvin]

SPS, LPS, and softies work fine together. I have a tank full of mixed corals. Simply place the corals down stream of the corals they cause problems to if any. I have bigger fights between my SPS colonies than the soft and hard corals. As for the bubble it will be fine on the sandy bottom. I have LPS, bubble, leathers, mushrooms, and other corals in an 80 with SPS, and a Tunze cranking the flow. The frogspawn is being blasted and it still opens up.

[gjuarez]

THere you go Rich. Tim is well suited to give you advice since he keeps them all together. As far as the reactor, maybe you can Alex build you one.
Gary, what are some ways that one can add calcium to a reef tank to keep up with the demands. I use B Ionic, is that what you were reefering too. What other ways can I calcium efficiently? Is a two part additive the next best thing to a calcium reactor? I am planning to get a reactor.

[Tim Marvin]

I use Oceanic Salt and a kalk reactor dripping for all water top-off. Mine stay just over 500 right after a water change and drops to about 400 before I change water again. I also have 7 clams in that mixed tank, one is a Gigas in the 15-16 inch range.

[GaryP]

A lot of folks here are doing real well with Kalk reactors too.

I make my own DIY 2 part. I'll show you what I am doing when you are up here. I'm having a hard time keeping up with the calcium & buffer demand though and I may be going to a calcium reactor soon. I'll probably still drip Kalk too.

[gjuarez]

Hey that would be cool but how does DIY 2 part buffer know when to dose? I usually just dose when it is needed.

[GaryP]

Hey that would be cool but how does DIY 2 part buffer know when to dose? I usually just dose when it is needed.

The same way the DIY water change and tank maintenance system works. Whenever the DIY'er gets off his lazy butt and decides to work on the tanks.

[StephenA]

I keep both in my tank. But they are on opposite ends of a 120.

You can Triple Bag that guy and ship him overnight. I'd eBay him.

[scuba_steveo]

scuba, do you have LPS and SPS in the same tank. IF so, how do you keep them from stinging each other?

Dont let them touch, that's how.

[Reef69]

Im thinking of separating all my LPS from my SPS, but, who knows, I like the way everything looks..

[StephenA]

Dont let them touch, that's how.

Funny :lol

[Tim Marvin]

You know when they are touching by the burns. Usually a slight move makes it work. Lots of softies can actually touch the SPS with no problems.

[verynewatthis]

well i have heard ebay a few time...i wonder how much it is worth??any thoughts....rich

[jaded]

I think your going to have to figure out what you want to do with the tank... SPS vs LPS! Although they are kept in the same tank often it's not something you can take lightly... they will "fight" one another for space. That monster bubble is going to win that fight no matter what reactor or lighting or filtration you have... I think that bubble might win a fight even with a nuclear reactor!

If your hooked on SPS I would suggest removing the bubble... maybe you can work out a deal with someone that would frag you a small piece of it so you can at least have him in your tank. Do your sps tank with the bubble frag near the glass. Direct a gental flow toward him so the sweepers won't contact anything else.

Moving him wont be to difficult... get yourself a big bag, induce him to retrtact polyps and place him in the bag under the water level. You can remove the light canopy right?

[dan]

i have a large bubble in my tank that sits on the floor under halides. the tank is full of sps. but than i do have a 250 gal. and the bubble can't reach that far.

[verynewatthis]

yes i can tank him out...i would just feel very bad if i hurt it...it has a lot of soft skin you know....plus if i was to sell it i would hate it if it died on the trip....rich

[GaryP]

Rich,

I don't think there is a porblem with doing LPS and sps in the same tank. Most of us do to some degree. The issue is really just doing SPS and an aggressive coral the size of your bubble and SPS in the same tank. You are going to be pretty limited on room for it. I have a similar issue with a huge galaxea in my 125. I solved it by keeping a gentle current blowing in its direction that keeps the sweepers back on its side of the tank. I have it located in the bottom front corner of the tank. The only other coral located near it is a frogspawn and it is aggressive enough that it can look out for itself and I just let them fight it out.